Actinotinus Oliver, p.p.

Shrubs or small trees, deciduous or sometimes evergreen. Branchlets glabrous or pubescent with simple, fascicled or stellate hairs, rarely lepidote hairs; winter buds perulate or naked. Leaves usually opposite, rarely ternate, simple, petiolate, entire, dentate, or 3-5-lobed; stipules usually small or absent. Inflorescence terminal or at apices of short branches with 1- or 2-jugate leaves, compound, corymbose- or paniculate-cymose. Flowers small, actinomorphic, but sometimes marginal flowers of inflorescence enlarged, somewhat zygomorphic and sterile, rarely entire inflorescence consisting of such sterile flowers; bracts and bracteoles usually small and caducous. Calyx small, 5-toothed. Corolla white, rarely reddish, pinkish, or greenish, rotate, campanulate, hypocrateriform, or tubular, 5-lobed. Stamens 5; filaments filiform; anthers medifixed, longitudinally dehiscent, introrse. Ovary semi-inferior, 3-loculed, 1 locule fertile with a single ovule, and 2 sterile; styles short; stigmas slightly capitate to 3-lobed. Fruit a 1-seeded drupe with a ± compressed pyrene, red, purplish, black, or rarely yellow when mature.

We were unable to check the original material of Viburnum nervosum var. hassianum Loesener (Beih. Bot. Centralbl., Abt. 2, 37: 185. 1920; Shandong: Forstamt 114, 596; Krug 236, 561, 305; Zimmermann 531). The loci typici are temples where the plant was cultivated ("Kap Yatau: angepflantz in der Tempelanlagen von Huayenan und Taitschingkung") and are clearly outside the known distribution of V. nervosum; additionally, the provided description is quite vague ("a typo indumento parciore recedens"), while the phenological information provided ("mit länglichen Früchten im Mai") does not match the known phenology of V. nervosum.

Viburnum wrightii Miquel (Ann. Mus. Bot. Lugduno-Batavi 2: 267. 1866) was recorded in FRPS (72: 88. 1988) as occurring in Anhui and Zhejiang, but we could not satisfactorily identify this species. Material from Anhui (Feng 1046, LBG - sheet no. 00081428) may belong to V. betulifolium, as well as material from Jiangxi (Xiang 8234, LBG - sheet no. 0029514) and that reported in Fl. Zhejiang (6: 150. 1986).

Viburnum chinense Hooker & Arnott (Bot. Beechey Voy. 190. 1833, not V. sinense Zeyher ex Colla, 1824) is a synonym of Premna integrifolia Linnaeus (Lamiaceae), according to FRPS (72: 104. 1988), which is treated in Fl. China (17:26. 1994) as a synonym of P. serratifolia Linnaeus. Viburnum dielsii H. Léveillé (Repert. Spec. Nov. Regni Veg. 9: 443. 1911, not Graebner, 1901) is a synonym of Callicarpa rubella Lindley var. rubella (see Fl. China 17: 13. 1994). Viburnum versatile R. H. Miao, W. B. Liao & Q. Y. Sun (Acta Sci. Nat. Univ. Sunyatseni 38(6): 129. 1999) apparently belongs to the Rubiaceae (Malécot, Hommes & Pl. 49: 22-27. 2004). Actinotinus was based on a mixed gathering comprising an inflorescence of Viburnum inserted on the terminal bud of a leafy shoot of Aesculus chinensis var. wilsonii (Rehder) Turland & N. H. Xia (see Fl. China 12: 3. 2007).

About 200 species: mostly in temperate and subtropical regions of Asia and South America; 73 species (45 endemic) in China.

(Authors: Yang Qiner (杨亲二); Valéry Malécot)